Unconventional homes becoming popular way to spice up your life

Over half of residential property owners in the UK would consider living permanently in an unconventional type of home such as a boat, tree house, converted barn or warehouse to have a more creative and interesting home life and escape the pressures of modern life according to a recent survey from BLP Insurance, a specialist residential warranty and commercial latent defects insurer.

The desire to leave a conventional house or flat is most prevalent among 35-54 year olds (61%) with the over 55s (42%) being the least likely to giving up their traditional bricks and mortar home. Men (57%) are more adventurous than women (48%) when it comes to considering a move to a canal or forest glade.

The three most popular alternative types of home are converted buildings (24%), boats (20%) and eco-homes such as houses made of straw bales (19%).

Shipping containers (11%), treehouses (9%), pallet homes (5%) and yurts (4%) were the least popular choices except for the most adventurous homeowners.

Four of the most popular reasons for choosing a non-traditional style of home was because it is more creative and interesting (42%), is cheaper to run (33%) more environmentally friendly (32%) and it allows people to escape the hectic nature of urban life (25%).

Phil Harris, Director at BLP Insurance, said: “The days when most middle aged homeowners aspired to buy a semi-detached house in a quiet tree lined suburban street could soon be a thing of the past. It seems that people approaching their 40s and 50s are looking for a greater level of freedom and adventure and want to try a different type of home away from the suburbs.

“Reflective of a shifting cultural mind-set, there is also a definite trend among younger people especially to factor in variables such as environmental impact when choosing a new home.

“It could now be time to invest in an unconventional property as demand increases and people chase the limited supply.”

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Notes to editors: All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from Opinium. Total sample size was 2,008. Fieldwork was undertaken between 21 – 23 May 2019. The survey was carried out online. The figures are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).